In Him We Were Loved First
"We love because he first loved us." — 1 John 4:19
Introduction
We have come to the end of this sermon series on the love of God, and we could not close it in a more beautiful way than with this truth — simple, profound, and transforming: our love — all of it — has an origin that is not found in us. There is a prior source, older and more steadfast. There is a love that came before us, that found us when we were not yet capable of loving, and that planted within us the very capacity to respond.
John writes with the authority of someone who rested his head on Jesus' chest. He knew the heart of the Master. And he sums it all up in nine words that ought to change the way we get up in the morning, the way we treat our spouse, the way we look at the difficult neighbor, the way we bear with the irritating brother or sister: we love because he first loved us. This is not a religious formula. It is the very mechanics of Christian love.
Throughout this series, we have seen that God is love, that this love was revealed in the Son, that it is received by faith, and that it transforms us from the inside out. Today we close the circle. The love we have received must go out. It must circulate. And when it goes out — when we truly love — we are not inventing something new. We are reflecting what first shone upon us.
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1. God's Love Arrived Before We Did
There is a divine priority that ought to fill us with both humility and wonder. John does not say that God loved us because we were lovable. He says that God loved us first — before any merit, before any response, before any conversion. Paul confirms this in Romans 5:8: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
This means that God's love was not a reaction to what He saw in us. It was a free, sovereign, and undeserved initiative. Many of us grew up with the idea that love must be earned — from our parents, from society, from God. And that lie paralyzes us. It makes us shrink. It makes us live in fear of failing and losing what we thought depended on our performance.
Practical Application: Today, before you do anything else, remind yourself of this: He has already loved you. His love does not increase when you serve well, nor does it diminish when you fail. Your identity is not in your performance — it is in His grace. Let this certainty be the solid ground beneath your feet.
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2. A Love That Transforms Us from the Inside Out
God's love does not come merely to comfort us — it comes to change us. John, in the preceding verse (v. 18), writes that "perfect love drives out fear." In other words, when God's love truly penetrates the heart, it casts out the fear that once dominated us: the fear of judgment, the fear of abandonment, the fear of not being enough.
And it is precisely that love, now at work within us, that becomes capable of loving others. We cannot give what we have not received. A dry well cannot water fields. A heart that has never been loved has no reserves from which to love. This is why the Christian's first task is not to try harder to love — it is to go deeper in the experience of God's love. To read the Scriptures as love letters. To pray as someone in the presence of One who truly knows us and will never leave us. To break bread with a deep awareness of what that death meant.
Practical Application: Take a careful look at your personal devotional life — not as a religious obligation, but as a time to receive God's love. Many of us are so busy serving that we forget to drink. Return to the source — not once a week, but every single day.
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3. Loving As a Consequence, Not a Striving
Here is the glorious paradox of the Christian life: the more we surrender to God's love, the more naturally we love. That is not to say the effort disappears — but the motivation changes completely. We stop loving in order to earn approval, to avoid punishment, or to be seen as good people. We begin to love because we are filled with Someone who is love.
John says that whoever claims to love God and yet hates a brother or sister is a liar (v. 20). Blunt words. But true ones. Love for the invisible God proves itself in love for the visible brother or sister. Family, coworkers, those who have hurt us — these are the training ground where God's love becomes visible to the world.
Practical Application: Identify someone you find it hard to love. Before you act, ask God to fill you with His love for that person. Don't force it. Receive first. Then act.
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Conclusion
As we close this series, the invitation is both simple and demanding: live as someone who was loved first. Not as someone who must still earn God's love, but as someone who has already received it and cannot keep it all to themselves. This love is the greatest transforming force the world has ever known — and God has entrusted it to clay jars like us. May our lives be, each and every day, a reflection of the love that reached us before we ever deserved it.
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Closing Prayer
Lord, thank you for loving us when we were still your enemies. Fill us so completely with your love that it overflows onto everyone around us. May our lives be not a striving to love, but a reflection of the love we first received from you. Amen.